The Brides of Dracula
by Fortune Zyne
Summary: REDONE! My view on how Dracula met and turned his three Brides, Verona, Marishka, and Aleera.


**The Brides of Dracula**

**By : Fortune Zyne**

**Author's Note : Hi, I decided to redo this, since I really wasn't satisfied with how it turned out before, so with out further ado, let's get this show on the road.**

**Disclaimer : I own nothing.**

**Chapter One- My Name is Verona**

**Sicily, Italy**

**1541**

Verona sat outside the manor house she had inheirited from her grandmother, dressed in fine silk clothes despite the heat, which was rather interesting considering her heirtage. She was born a poor Baker's daughter out side the town of Siena. Her mother had died from a fever when she was still a small girl, leaving her father and her alone in the world. As she grew she became the most beautiful creature men had ever lain eyes upon. But because her family was so poor, no man wanted her without suitable dowry. She told her father is what for the best,

"I desire a man who loves for more than my face or any fortune I might bring him.

Her shook his sadly and said

"My dear daughter, I feel in my heart, that somehow, your beautiful face, will be your undoing."

She never understood what that meant, but they got along alright. Shortly after her father's death at fifteen, she discovered her long-lost maternal grandparents. She discovered her mother came from a rich family from Sicily, but fell in love with her father. She ran off without her family's blessing and they had never heard from her since. Seeing there was nothing for her in Siena, she packed her things, sold teh Bakery that had so long been her home, and made her way to Sicily, where she pesented herself to her family. Her grandparents were sketchy at first, but they soon warmed to her when she presented the emerald ring that was the family's heirloom from her mother. They took her in and she was raised within high society ever since. Now with a nice dowry and her good looks, she would have no trouble finding a husband, if she would only answer the suitors that came for her. But Verona found no love with them, and refused to marry without love. Her grandfather scowled saying,

"Your mother said the same thing, and she how she ended."

Then he stormed out of the room, with her grandmother not far behind, to soothe his rage. Nevertheless, after their death she inheirited the manor, and was fairly better off than most women in her position. And it was on that particular sumer night, that her life would change forever.

When she entered her grandparents lives they had tried to teach her all teh basic ettiquette, but old habits from her youth died hard. One in particular, was to go out in the evening with nothing but her nightgown on, and waded in the nearby stream. It was on a particular night, after her 23rd birthday that she met _him_.

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Verona's hair flew from behind her as she splashed like a gleeful child in the refreshingly cool waters of the stream. The bottom of her nightgown was completely soaked, and the moon was high in the sky. Finally deciding she'd had enough, she walked back onto the shore, and made her way home. She was halfway there when she heard a sound. She turned and stood in shock as the most handsome man she had ever seen made his way towards her. He had shoulder length black hair that was pulled back by a silver clip, and dark mysterious eyes. He was dressed all in black in an old style of military uniform, with a cloak wrapped about his shoulders, leather gloves and well shined riding boots. She backed away fearfully as he approached her, till she was back against the trunk of a tree. Even still she tried to evade his outstretched hand as it came in contact with the skin of her cheek. She shuddered softly until she heard his voice in her ear.

"Hush." he whispered softly, his voice thick with a foreign accent. She sighed softly and leaned against him, as he wrapped her into his embrace. She closed her eyes, falling into the blissful darkness.

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Verona opened her eyes to find herself lying in her own bed at the manor. She had been cahnged out of her wet clothes into a warm white flannel gown. She rose slowly and saw her old nurse sitting next to the bed. When she noticed Verona was awake she cried out

"Oh good miss, you are awake. We were so frightened when the Count brought you back to us."

"The...Count?" she asked softly.

"Yes Count Dracula, charming man really, he carried you back to the house after you collasped into his arms on the river banks."

Verona shook her head in a vain attempt to clear it, then ventured to ask,

"Where is he now, this Count?"

"Downstairs in the foyer miss."

Without another word, she wrapped herself in a heavy red blanket and made her way downstairs to the foyer. Once there she saw the man she'd met by teh river sitting in her grandfather old armchair, sipping a glass of wine. She approached him and said

"I see you are making yourself at home."

He looked at her with an amused expression on his face.

"Indeed, you have very nice accomodations, it is a wonder you have no husband."

"I have no husband for none seem to desire anything other than my face and fortune." she replied curtly. He shook his head and said

"How about me, do you not wonder why I have no wife?"

"Perhaps you have a dark past, or perhaps you too desire something more in a relationship like me, either way it is not for me to judge."

The Count seemed to ponder this answer.

"Very wise, very well-said." he finally replied. He set down his glass, straightened his jacket and said

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Count Vladislaus Dragulia, or Dracula if you prefer."

"As I am Verona Vlemir, but though it is none of my business, tell me, why do you have no wife?"

His eyes darkened and he spoke in a low voice

"I was to have one, once, her name was Elisabeta, she looked exactly like you do, and she was very smart. But she was raised by a Moor mother, and the Union was unacceptable, and in the end, she was murdered."

With that he brought his face smashing down onto the table.

"Murdered by Christian fools who thought they knew God's Will themselves!"

The glasses, wine, and table cracked under the force of his blow, smashing to the floor. Verona dropped her blanket and backed away in fear. Dracula, noticing this, calmed himself and apporached her,

"But that is in the past now, come, let us sit and talk for a while."

And talk they did, into the early hours of the morning. And it was after the cock first crow, that the Count retired and Verona realised her love for him.

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_**Two weeks later...**_

It seemed like a blissful dream when the Count had asked her consent to be his Bride. She had willingly agreed. The Count was pleased but warned her that once she was his, she would never be able to go back to the life she once had. She understood, and was willing. The Count eyes lit up and a smile spread across his face.

"Then it is done."

With that he departed into the night, saying he would return for her on the night of the full moon. She was to wait. And it was on that night, she did wait, by her window, staring out at the stream they had met at. She was dressed in a white dress, with a cinched waist, with delicate puffed sleeves that were gathered at the elbows with pearls, leaving her shoulders bare. Her long hair, the color of night, fell down behind her back, her dark green eyes sparkling with anticipation. She stared down at the soft satin slippers, before deciding to sit on the bed. She sat there and waited, when _he _came. HE was dressed in his usual attire, but he gently released himself from the cloak and pulled off his gloves. He set them down on her window seat, and appraoched her,

"Tonight you will be mine, you shall be flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood. You shall cross land and sea to do my bidding. I shall crown you Queen of the Damned, and in your womb shall you conceive my heirs. And when all those who oppose us are dead, and their bones are dust, you shall still rise up beside to rule over the night."

Though the words should have sent a warning bell off in her head they did not. She drew the sheer fabric of her sheets around her chest as he knelt before her. Gently he removed them from her chest, and lay her down upon the bed. He leaned close to her ear and whispered

"But first, I need your blood, I need it!"

He kissed her hard on her lips, and she responded willingly, sighing as his hands traveled over her body. His kissed his way to her forehead, then down to her neck, where with extended fangs, he bit into. She gasped slightly at the shapr pain, but it quickly died away into a spine tingling warmth. She panted and gasped as he returned to her mouth, kissing her passionately. Then he pulled away, after what seemed like hours, though it was only a few minutes, to open his coat, revealing his bare chest. He drew his razor sharp fingernail over the skin, opening a wound where blood flowed freely from it. He gently lifted her head to the wound and sighed as she began to suckle like a hungry infant. Finally he pulled her away gently, and as she stared into his handsome face, she fell into a world of darkness.

**End Chapter One.**

**Author's Note : _Now_ I am satisfied! Thank you to all who reviewed on the other story, and I want to say thanks to those who will! Hope you like this one as much as I do! Also Dracula's lines are not mine. So without further ado, goodbye and happy reading!**

**Signed,**

**Fortune Zyne.**


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